


King and Knight

by Kitsune_no_Yomeiri



Series: Carry Your Throne (Reincarnation Verse) [2]
Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, M/M, No ndrv3 spoilers!, Ouma is a royal pain in the ass, Saihara deals with it, here we go again
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-30
Updated: 2017-11-22
Packaged: 2019-01-26 13:47:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12558700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kitsune_no_Yomeiri/pseuds/Kitsune_no_Yomeiri
Summary: The newly crowned King is nothing but trouble for his beloved Knight.





	1. Sunset

**Author's Note:**

> Each part of the series is an AU inspired by a line from Jon Bellion's "Carry Your Throne". Entries will have individual ratings and will clearly state if there are any possible ndrv3 spoilers! These are all AU, but there might be some references, and I really don't want to spoil the game for anyone!!
> 
> Enjoy~

=No NDRV3 Spoilers

=Rating: PG-15

 

~~~~~~~~~

 

 

_It’s a ceremony but the crowd’s gone, and you’ve got nothing but my crown on._

_Round two round three give me sequels, every time you open the cathedral._

 

 

\--- 

 

The knight marched briskly down the hallway, giving a quick nod to the two guards stationed half-way along the hallway. Normally, the entire corridor leading to the royal chambers was lined with his best knights, ready to leap into action and defend their king at a moment’s notice. Tonight however, the majority of the King’s Guard, along with the entire castle staff and a good chunk of the nobility, were busy drinking and dancing in the great hall and courtyard many floors below. Those who weren’t partying in the castle had chosen to take their fun down into the surrounding city where several festivals celebrating the crowning were happening simultaneously. The entire city was alive with the sound of music and celebration.

However, for those tasked with the highest of honors, it was still a working night. After all, as noble a task as it was, protecting the new leader of their kingdom was a tireless responsibility. The guards standing sullenly at attention when he approached were some of the unlucky few who had drawn guard duty on such a special occasion.

He approached the gleaming golden double doors that led into the royal chambers and knocked twice.

“First Knight Saihara Shuuichi.”

From the other side of the thick wood came a voice, “Come in.”

He pushed open the doors, mentally checking they shut and clicked behind him. _You can never be too cautious when it comes to security, especially on such a night as this._

Stepping into the grand entryway where his king’s living quarters began, he dropped to one knee, bowed his head, and placed one hand over his breastplate in a show of subservience. “You called for me, Your Highness?”

“Oh stop that, Saihara-chan, and do get off the floor.  I know I’m king now, but I’m not my father. There’s no need for any of that formality when it’s just us, seriously!”

He raised his head just in time to see a flash of white pass through the balcony archway on the far side of the sprawling chambers and disappear down the steps leading outside.

Pulling himself to his feet with the gentle click of well-oiled armor, Saihara made his way through the lavish interior of the royal quarters. The ruling monarch resided in one of the largest areas in the castle, a series of open chambers connected by a massive central living space with a vaulted ceiling no doubt inspired by the kingdom’s Cathedral. The royal chambers took up a large part of the western side of the castle, with a sprawling balcony overlooking the northern back gardens. The entire castle was exquisitely decorated by the Head Maid, and while the kindly if not strict girl usually took her job as the castle’s keeper seriously, she had truly outdone herself in the king’s quarters. This entire section of the castle was lavished with nothing short of the finest of furnishings- gold leaf catching the visitor’s eye on every trim, gleaming marble floors polished like mirrors, and spotless silken draperies cascaded from the ceiling to the floor.

All the splendor held no novelty for the knight, who often found himself called here to report directly to his king. However, even with the recent shift in leadership occurring mere hours ago, Saihara noted a subtle change in the decor and setup as he he walked towards the grand archway where the ceiling stopped and a white marble staircase opened onto the grand balcony.

Perched on the very edge of the banister sat the new king in question, peering down into the castle gardens far below.

As the sun sank below the mountains in the distance, the last golden light of the day caught on stretches of bare skin and loose purple hair, and sparkled across the stream that danced through the gardens behind him. He looked ethereal, a graceful figure draped in white surrounded by the scent of roses and apple trees in blossom. Perched on top of his head sat the symbol of their nation- a golden crown that had been placed there mere hours before by the High Priestess during the crowning ceremony.

As the knight approached, the king turned to face him with a smirk, not moving from his precarious seat on the edge of the banister.

“Be careful, it’s a long way down. I would hate to have to run back down all those stairs to get you.”

“Awwwww, Saihara-chan! You wouldn’t throw yourself off after me? Catch me as I fall? Cradle me in your arms to soften the blow? Nishishi, what kind of knight are you?”

“The practical kind.”

Ouma sighed over-dramatically, and made a show of getting off the railing. He stomped over to his knight and stood defiantly in front of Saihara, the crown on his head just barely level with the knight’s chin, feet planted apart and hands on his hips looking like a spoiled child who had been told off. 

“Happy now?”

“Very.”

With the crowned boy standing so close, Saihara couldn’t help but notice that the boy’s silken pajamas were rather sheer. Almost… _see through_. He had them wrapped languidly around his torso, and if it wasn’t for a small golden clasp, the thin garment would no doubt fall to the floor. It would have been expected of any other knight to hastily avert their eyes at the sight of their king dressed so indecently.

But Saihara Shuuichi wasn’t just any knight. He had known Ouma his whole life, having been born and raised in the castle by one of the lesser noble families. Although he had been of lesser blood, there had been few boys of Ouma’s age inside the safety of the palace walls and the king had been a kindly man. They had grown up whacking each other with toy swords in the courtyards, swiping food from the kitchen, and Saihara had spent most of his childhood either saving Ouma from the backlash caused by his numerous pranks or being the victim of said pranks. He knew the purple haired boy better than anyone else, and knew intimately well when the other was playing games.

And while Ouma Kokichi might be the king of games in addition to king of the kingdom, Saihara Shuuichi was right behind him in more ways than one.

 “Ouma what are you even wearing?”

“Oh, this little thing?” The purple haired boy reached up and grabbed the top of his outfit, pulling the thin fabric down off one shoulder in the process. Half of the small boy’s chest was now completely bare under the moonlight.  He pretended to examine the garment closely, before gasping and looking up at Saihara with squinted violet eyes. “Why, Saihara, this is all the rage in the court these days! It’s the finest silk from across the sea, you see, one yard of it is worth your entire year’s pay! It’s irreplaceable!”

Though it might slip by someone else, the knight’s perceptive eyes caught the slightly jagged cut of material resting on the king’s thighs. Upon even closer inspection it looked like the hem was frayed along the edges in several places. “Is that so?”

“Nishishi! That was a lie! It was part of a canopy they hung over the bed, Toujou-chan wanted to redecorate my room, make it fit for a new king~! But I didn’t like it so I took it down and cut it up, ha ha!”

Saihara eyed the other boy up before something clicked into place in his mind. “Ouma, you know that if you didn’t want to insult Toujou by taking down the decorations, you could have just asked me, I would have-“

“Nah, that was a lie too! I thought it looked good over the bed, it’s just that it looks _soooo_  much better on me, don’t you agree?” The new king did a little half-spin, twirling the fabric with him until the remaining make-shift sleeve pinned haphazardly with a clasp- now the only thing holding the boy’s modesty in check- was in great danger of slipping off entirely.

He finished his spin and leaned towards Saihara, the soft moonlight dancing on his purple hair and catching the playful gleam in his violet eyes.

The knight sighed tiredly. It seemed like he didn’t have enough energy to play against the king tonight after all.

In his defense, it had been an arduous day for the head of the King’s Guard. He had gotten up before the sun to oversee the set-up of the ceremonial stage and rigorously check that the entire courtyard and front terrace was secured and fully guarded. He had lectured his men for a full hour on any and all possibilities and how to prevent them. They had to be completely vigilant throughout the whole ceremony- the king’s life depended on it. Because despite Ouma’s childish nature he had a good heart deep down and while Saihara truly believed that Ouma would be a generous and fair king to his people, there were many who disagreed. The old king had had a tedious relationship with the church at best, and now Ouma had gone and openly defied the high priestess. Saihara knew too well that there were people out there who wanted to do his king harm. And what better opportunity than at a public viewing, with the king standing out in the open? An arrow could come in from anywhere, riots could break out in the streets, any of the visiting nobles standing along the balcony could suddenly pull out a knife and attack, they were so close, _too close_  and Saihara had to be ready for absolutely anything at any moment.

His exhaustion must have shown on his face, because Ouma’s smirk dropped into a small smile. The purple haired boy reached out and wrapped a hand around Saihara’s armored wrist, gently leading the knight back up the staircase and into the royal chambers.

“Now that I’m the king, can you guess what my very first order  will be~? Go on, Saihara-chan, guess!”

“Hmmm… let me guess,” The tired knight pretended to think for a moment as they made their way up the stairs, “Practical jokes will be mandatory once a week and the village will get an unlimited supply of that bubbly grape juice you like so much.”

The shorter boy yanked on the knight’s arm as he laughed, almost causing  Saihara to miss a step. “Nishishishi~! Well, that is a very good idea, perhaps that will be my second decree. How insightful! Just as I expected of Saihara-chan, my lovely second in command!”

The toe of one of Saihara’s metal boots caught on the last stair and this time he stumbled for real before years of carefully toned reflexes caught up. “S-second in command? Ouma, I’m just First Knight, you have High Advisor Akamatsu to-”

Ouma spun around to face him, stretching out his arms and announcing loudly into the oncoming night and empty royal chambers:

“I, Ouma Kokichi the First, Crowned King of Hope’s Peak Kingdom, hereby declare my first and most important decree: I hearby order First Knight Saihara Shuuichi to join me in holy matrimony and be my beautiful queen!”

Saihara was glad that he had finished climbing the staircase or else he surely would have slipped and gone crashing back to the bottom. As it was, the impact of those words hit him like he had fallen from a great height and sent his head spinning.

“D-did you just _order me to marry you?!?!_ ”

Ouma’s grin stretched impossibly wide and he danced up to Saihara, grabbed his armored hands and yanked him further inside the room, his poor knight flustered and stumbling after him, reflexes apparently left out on the balcony along with his ability to think straight.

“O-Ouma, wait! That was just a lie, right? You can’t just say things like that. This is why the priestesses are nervous about you taking over the kingdom. And you can’t possibly- you wouldn’t want-”

“Stop, stop, stop!” The king turned abruptly and slammed both his hands into Saihara’s breastplate causing the knight to jerk to a halt and cut off his train of thought.

“Nishishishi- it’s not a lie! I told you, it’s an _order_! I’m going to order Toujou to make you a breathtaking wedding dress covered in jewels, march into that snake-pit of a Cathedral and marry you right under the nose of that stuck-up high priestess! It’s an order from the king- there’s nothing she can do about it! And besides,” Ouma reached up and carefully brushed a stray lock of dark hair across Saihara’s face, fingers impossibly gentle as they teased over his cheekbone and tucked the strand behind his ear. “you would look _so good_ in a dress.”

Saihara tried to get words out, tried to say something- _anything _-__ to get Ouma to stop messing with him and be serious- _he was king now! They couldn’t do this anymore!_ \- but all that came out was undignified squeaks highly unbecoming of the head of the royal guard. Ouma flashed one of his signature Cheshire smirks and kept going.

“It’ll be so much fun! We’ll dance and drink and play a few pranks- spike the holy water with aphrodisiacs wouldn’t that be a _riot! _-__ before sneaking off into the night. We’ll come home and I’ll get to peel all that priceless fabric off you, I’ll push you down on our bed, take off the jewels one by one until you’re begging, and -”

“O-OUMA!” Saihara could feel his face heating up, and had to step back and turn away from the other boy to pull himself back together. It took a couple deep breaths before the First Knight could collect the proper words to tell his king.

He refused to acknowledge how fast his own heart was racing.

“W-What are you saying? It’s tradition that the king _has_  to marry one of the priestesses and receive a holy blessing from the church!”

The new king stepped directly in front of his knight and leaned upwards, standing on his toes to close the gap in height. He stretched out both arms to gently lift Saihara’s helmet off, before tossing it carelessly to the side. It clattered over the harsh marble floor before skidding to a stop in the plush fur carpet surrounding the bed.

“O-Ouma! What was th-“

The shorter boy jumped back out of reach before puffing out his thin, barely-covered chest and crossing his arms in what he clearly thought was a show of defiance.

“Ha! Those silly priestesses and their stupid traditions- my father didn’t follow their rules, and neither will I!”

Saihara groaned. Ouma had never had any loyalty to the kingdom’s religion nor it’s powerful priestesses, but the knight had dearly hoped that the weight of the crown and all the responsibility it came with would make his childhood friend and new king at least diplomatic towards the church.

While it was true that the previous king had taken a lover outside the strict agreement made with the Cathedral, the two hadn’t been married and hadn’t received the holy blessing, a cause of much controversy that Saihara had been combating during his time as First Knight. There were still some whispers that Ouma was an illegitimate king, born to a union unblessed and unapproved by the church.

“Ouma, you know very well how much power the Cathedral has- over the people, and over the crown! I really don’t think it’s a good idea to make them angry, especially on purpose!”

Even as they argued, the troublesome king had one of Saihara’s arm gauntlets grasped in his hands, tugging harshly at the frustrating laces. He gave one great yank and the piece of metal, complex laces and all, went flying out of his hand and out the balcony archway. Saihara could hear it distantly clanking all the way down the marble stairs outside.

“Screw the Cathedral!”

“Ouma!”

The knight shot his other still-armored arm up into the air and out of the shorter boy’s reach before the king could grab it. Ouma nearly snarled at him.

“I’m serious, Saihara-chan! They’re no good at all- taking tons money from the people, for what!? These mysterious sacrifices? They kidnap young girls and brainwash them! I’m a troublemaker and a liar, but I wouldn’t _dream_ of doing the things that those _priestesses_  are getting away with! They’re supposed to be helping people, not making everyone live in constant fear! I’m the king now, and if I don’t stop them, who will?” He held out one hand palm upwards, his unblemished skin almost glowing in the dim light. “Also give me your arm- right now, that’s an order!”

Their eyes locked for an endless moment, defiant violet clashing against concerned grey, before the tired knight sighed and lowered his arm. The trickster king didn’t waste a moment before snatching the armored wrist and pulling it towards him.

Over the soft sounds of Ouma tugging at the stubborn metal, the taller boy barely caught the other’s mumbled words. “They were the ones that tried to take you from me!”

Saihara’s voice softened. “You can’t seriously still upset about that?”

The smaller boy didn’t look up at him, face completely masked by soft purple locks as he continued to pull on the laces of Saihara’s remaining gauntlet.

It had been a simple misunderstanding. The two of them had been no more than seven years old when they had snuck out of the castle by climbing through the water grates in the castle wall after one of Ouma’s more creative pranks. After weeks of an unusual drought the stream had been so low that the bars of the grate had become visible and thus both appealing and easy for two thin boys to slip through. Soaking wet, they had been playing in the shallows of the river on the village outskirts when a procession of priestesses on their way back to the Cathedral had spotted them. To this day, Saihara retained some of his more feminine features, but as a child he had been downright beautiful. Mistaking him for a village girl who had ignored the mandatory call of service, the priestesses had pried him from Ouma’s arms and taken him kicking and screaming with them back to the Cathedral.

The priestesses’ misjudgment had become clear embarrassingly quickly when they had tried to change him into the apprentice priestess robes inside the Cathedral’s entry hall. Shortly afterwards a squadron of the royal guard had arrived to take him home safely. Apparently Ouma had run back to the castle, ready to accept any punishment for his prior misbehavior, so long as they brought Saihara back safely.

It was a running joke in the castle guard that Saihara had fought fiercely to put to rest- so far without luck. But every now and then when someone joked about Saihara’s girly looks, the knight noticed how Ouma would tactfully change the subject.

“That wasn’t your fault, Ouma. After all, it’s _my_ job to protect _you._ ”

“No….what kind of king can’t protect his people?”

Ouma circled behind him and he didn’t even feel the nimble fingers unlace his breastplace. Gravity sent it collapsing to the floor, leaving only a cotton undershirt underneath.

“Ah- Ouma, be careful! Of course I know how much you care about your people, but you didn’t see-” the knight twisted around, trying to catch the shorter boy as he fiddled and tugged at laces and straps, “-you didn’t see the look on the High Priestess’s face when she crowned you- she was smiling, but it was terrifying!”

Earlier that same day, high above the cheering crowds, the young prince had bent his head in the ancient ceremony to receive the crown and all the power that came with it. The High Priestess had approached with the crown raised, dazzling with her shimmering white hair and flowing yellow robes, wearing her perpetual laugh. She was all bright smiles and gentle tones, but her aura had lacked even the slightest trace of warmth.

In his place behind his king-to-be, the First Knight had had to resist the instinct to reach for the hilt of his sword.

Looming over the bowed head of the new king, her eyes had been cold and empty as she looked down on Ouma.

The memory sent a shiver racing through the knight.

But his words couldn’t reach his childhood friend, as the purple haired trickster snaked arms around Saihara’s waist and pulled him back flush against Ouma’s barely clad form.

“Enough! I don’t want to talk about it anymore. Let’s talk about ah, something… else, shall we?”

Saihara shivered for an entirely different reason.

Ouma chucked against his knight’s shoulder, and before the taller boy could do anything to stop him, he grasped two handfuls of Saihara’s thin shirt and yanked.

The well-worn fabric, held in place by a series of ties, flew open with ease.

Saihara had lost most of his armor by now, his bracers and upper body armor having followed his helmet were now scattered across the room. The knight was left standing before his king in only his lower chain mail and greaves.

“There, much better.”

His work done, Ouma took a step back and appraised his knight. Eyes that looked like violet fire in the approaching darkness ran up and down his body, and even though Saihara still had half of his clothes on while Ouma had on nothing but a thin slip, the taller boy felt completely bare to the other’s heated gaze.

Saihara opened his mouth to say something, _anything_ , but the words caught in his throat as Ouma’s lips stretched into the special smirk that he reserved just for his knight. The crowned boy lifted a hand to the thin gold clasp on his shoulder and flicked it off, precious metal skidding out of sight with a soft clang. His silken slip cascaded into a pile at his feet, and the supreme ruler of largest nation on the continent stood there wearing nothing but the moonlight and his golden crown.

“Are you done objecting?”

All thoughts of counter-arguments abandoned the taller boy as his grey eyes raked over the newly exposed stretches of milky skin. Responsibilities be damned- all he could think about was running his hands down those slim sides, fingernails biting into soft flesh, drinking in the sweet sounds he could pull from the other...

Ouma stepped towards him, and he couldn’t stop himself from reaching out and yanking the smaller boy in close in a very un-knightly manner, leaning down until their lips were centimeters apart.

“Then it’s an _order _,__ ” Ouma’s breath crashed against his own and Saihara realized foggily that he was already breathing heavy.

" _Get on the bed._ "

 

\----

 


	2. Sunrise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After every sunset come the flames of sunrise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Quick note for those who only played the English version of the game- Angie refers to 'Kami' which became 'Atua' in the localizaed version, and refers to her god)

The first thing Saihara felt as consciousness slowly crept back into his sore body was _warmth_.

The feeling of soft silken sheets beneath him, the security of Ouma’s small body wrapped intimately with his own, the gentle happiness he felt well up inside him when he buried his face deeper into plush violet locks.

His strict inner clock told him that it was still early, he should still have some time to indulge in a few more hours of blissful sleep.

And yet, something felt wrong.

It was almost…too warm.

The knight’s honed instincts kicked in and his eyes shot open. It was too early for the sun to be up, and yet he could see an eerie glow pulsing outside the windows.

Something was very, very wrong.

He swung his legs over the edge of the bed, located his discarded pants and dashed towards the closest window, nearly tripping on the breastplace Ouma had so carelessly relieved him of the night before.

Saihara stumbled briefly but the adrenaline was already starting to course through his veins and he hardly felt any pain. Throwing his head out the open window, he found that he had woken from a dream to live in a nightmare.

The castle was on fire. And a strange fire at that- the blaze seemed to be moving much too rapidly, a sickly yellow haze that was creeping over the distant southern castle walls and eagerly consuming the stretch of land between the stone barrier and great hall like a giant beast spreading it’s territory. From what little Saihara could see beyond the castle walls was a massive haze of smoke where the village was supposed to be, the churning evil clouds pierced every few seconds by giant licks of flame stretching up into the sky.

A million thoughts exploded in his head as the first screams began to echo around the castle.

_Where were the guards? Why weren’t the castle bells ringing? Was there anyone still in the great hall? What had happened to the village? Why was-_

Seemingly from another world, Saihara heard a soft groan from the bed behind him and a confused voice calling his name softly.

_Ouma._

As hard as it was, Saihara had to push all the panic from his mind. He had to get Ouma out of here. As First Knight, he had a duty above all others to protect his king.

He rushed to the side of the bed, grasping down to swipe what he thought was his tunic off the floor and throwing it at the confused boy rubbing sleep from his eyes.

“Saihara-chan, what’s happening? I hear screaming, is everything-”

“There’s no time. Put that on, we need to go.”

_But go where? The fire was consuming the stone fortress like it was made of paper- could they make it to the west exit in time? The stables were by the west gate. If they could get down the hallway, through the west door, and to the stables they could ride the main road to the nearest town and try to get help from there-_

“-hara! Hey, Saihara, listen to me! We need to get to the village, they need help-”

“No, Ouma, the village is gone. I need to get you to safety, _now_.”

The purple haired boy was taking too long to put the tunic on, so Saihara grabbed the edges and yanked it down over his head. When his head popped through the collar of the shirt, Ouma stared at Saihara in dawning panic.

“What do you mean the village is gone?”

Saihara clasped his now sweaty hands around Ouma’s own as gently as he could manage and shook his head. He pulled the stunned leader to his feet, and began to pull him towards the massive double doors that secured the royal chambers.

“W-wait, what about everyone in the castle? The guards, Toujou and the maids, the kitchen-”

Over the increasingly loud roar of the fire outside and the haunting echoes of screams coming from out the window, Saihara could swear he heard noise in the hallway. He must be going crazy, because it almost sounded like chanting.

“I’m sorry Ouma” And he was. He was so, so sorry that he had to abandon the castle and everyone in it-the staff, the royalty, all the people they had grown up with and come to know over the years. But as First Knight his job was to protect to his king. To protect Ouma.

The others would understand.

The king was starting to protest and his knight had one hand on the massive lock when they heard laughter on the other side of the double doors.

Muted through the thick wood came an unmistakable voice.

“Nyahaha! Your Majesty! Open this door please, or Kami will be mad!”

Knight and king froze in their tracks.

Realization hit Ouma first.

“YOU! YOU DID THIS!?”

Saihara clapped a hand over the other’s mouth but it was too late.

“No, not me, this is the holy work of Kami! But… this won’t do- you need to come out! If you don’t come out, then all those poor villagers will have been sacrificed for nothing! How sad, nyahaha!”

The king thrashed in his arms, while Saihara’s brain went into overdrive. Their only exit out of the room was blocked. Even if they made it past the High Priestess and however many priestesses she had brought with her, they still had to escape the rampaging fire. There was no way out.

Unless…

The memory of two boys slipping through old metal bars and splashing in the river flashed before his eyes.

There was no drought this year, and they were much bigger, but perhaps the grate was still open? All these years, they had never told anyone how they escaped that day, and as the current was too strong for someone to sneak into the castle, the First Knight had never felt the need to block it off.

_It’s a one in a million chance but...._

A loud bang on the door jerked Saihara out of his thoughts.

“Mmmm mmm how sad, they had to die! They were unpure- ruled by an unholy and unblessed king. Kami said they had to go, along with everyone in this castle, along with you! We can’t make Kami mad, no no! Some come out, please~”

Ouma’s thrashing movements slowed to a stop. “They all died, all of this was .... because of me?”

The look on Ouma’s face shattered Saihara’s heart, but he didn’t have the time to piece either of them back together.

_…It’s our only chance._

He grabbed Ouma’s arm and yanked him away from the door, tugging him through the room and down the marble stairs in a twisted reverse image of themselves the night before.

They made it out to the balcony, and this time Saihara was the one who pulled himself up onto the banister. He gave a quick glance down at hedges of perfect roses and blossoming apple trees far below, and then carefully calculated the distance to the dainty river that ran through the center of the gardens, before hoisting Ouma up after him.

From the royal chambers he heard the doors finally give, a sickening explosion of wood and metal.

There was nowhere else left to go. They were trapped.

Ouma was shaking in his arms and he couldn’t tell if it was from sadness, anger, or fear.

Saihara took a deep breath and kissed the top of Ouma’s hair, still ruffled from sleep and lacking his short-lived crown.

He tightened his arms around the small boy pressed against his chest- his king, his friend, his lover…

…and leaned backwards.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I should apologize for my unhealthy relationship with commas and cliffhangers ><
> 
> After much indecision, I'm gonna leave the ending open- I couldn’t bring myself to make it totally dark, but at the same time this is a reincarnation verse, so technically they get to start over in the next part anyways? 
> 
> There was also a lot of back and forth about writing a ‘Night’ chapter to go between ‘Sunset’ and ‘Sunrise’. All the story happens in the two current chapters so the in-between could just be pure smut without worrying about plot. For now I want to focus on the rest of the verse (4-5 more parts planned), but then I might actually come back to this world and write the bonus chapter after all? Depends on my motivation and how the other parts turn out I guess. I guess for now I'm gonna bump the rating to 'T' and then if I sneak in the in-between chapter it'll have to go up (Scanadlous!).
> 
> Thank you SO MUCH to all the wonderful people who left comments on the first chapter and the previous part- I love you all so much <3
> 
> And of course, more comments = more love!
> 
> (ﾉ´ヮ`)ﾉ*: ･ﾟ

**Author's Note:**

> (Won't catch me robbing Ouma and Shuuichi of their 'u's'! )
> 
> Special shoutout to everyone's favorite crazy art cult girl- sorry, I needed a villian and you were perfect ><
> 
> Can you tell I have no idea how armor works??!?!? Seriously even google could only help me so much. Chainmail??? Greaves??? Breastplates??? I am confusion. Also writing sexy Ouma nearly killed me ヽ(°〇°)ﾉ
> 
> Leave a comment and I will love you forever~


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